Jean Cocteau Portrait of Vaslav Nijinksy in Le Spectre de la Rose

“Ci-gît une rose 
Que tous les rois vont jalouser.” ~ Théophile Gautier, La spectre de la rose 
(“Here lies a rose which all monarchs shall envy.”)

All roses are NOT created equal: some are simply more ravishing-smelling than others.

Christine Nagel

Oh, how I waited! I called the Boston Hermès boutique repeatedly over the past two weeks: “Are they here yet? Will you let me know when they are?” Of course, I was far better-mannered than that – but you get my gist. I’d been eagerly anticipating the new Christine Nagel Hermessence releases and they were late.  Today I made it a point to go into town, and three had just arrived!!! As I had suspected, it was the Hermessence Myrrhe Églantine which murmured its siren song immediately, so we will explore it together.

The Heart of the Rose – Edward Burne-Jones 

Few roses in today’s perfumery smell this delicate, natural and unaffected as the antique five-petaled pink eglantine rose, also known as sweetbriar. It’s prickly and thorny and delectable: even its foliage wafts an apple-redolent aroma. Some liken the leaflets’ fragrance to jasmine. In the language of flowers, eglantine is equated with poetry; that suits me perfectly. The five-petaled rose was pivotal to the Rosicrucians, that secret society often associated with alchemy and Freemasonry. It was sacred to the Faery Queen as well: faeries are known to be attracted to rose oil. Imagine weaving it within a myrrh (a dollop of opoponax?) tapestry and seeing what happens.…

Flora and The Zephyrs detail John Willianms Waterhouse

 Hermès Hermessence Myrrhe Églantine is nothing if not elegant. It is the sort of eau de toilette which blooms in the heat, especially in humidity. After the subtly invigorating green crispness of a freshly-bitten tart apple softens, a luxurious ethereal resinous quality tiptoes into this aromatic melange ever so gingerly. The result is mesmerizing – a frankincense-like aspect smells faintly lemony and slightly sweet, like rosin on a violin bow (it’s not as terpenic). 

 

Horst P. Horst bust with roses

The roses feel jammy and tangy. If one can visualize this fusion of fraÎcheur and sensuality barely breathed, sotto voce – the image might help approximate my experience Hermessence Myrrhe Églantine is a gossamer and mysterious perfume, a spectral rose which manages to be very sophisticated and charmingly unfussy. If you seek screeching rose, you do well to look elsewhere; if the exquisitely subtle entrances, then look no further.

Notes: rose, myrrh (all that’s currently available thus far)

 Hermessence Myrrhe Églantine Samples kindly provided by the Hermès Boutique in Boston – thank you! My nose is my own…

~ Ida Meister, Senior Editor

~ Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief

Photo courtesy of Hermès 

Thanks to the generosity of  Hermès Boston we have one sample of Hermessence Myrrhe Églantine for one registered reader_. Be sure to register or your comment will not count.) To be eligible for the draw, please tell us what appeals to you about Ida's review of Hermès Hermessence Myrrhe Églantine . Draw ends 4/11/2018

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